Tim Curran And Hurley Win The Katin Pro Am Team Challenge

HUNTINGTON BEACH, California (Saturday, January 8, 2011) – Former ASP World Tour surfer Timmy Curran (Oxnard, CA), 33, charged to a come-from-behind win in a stacked final to lead team Hurley to victory at the ASP Specialty Katin Pro-Am Team Challenge.

The Katin Pro-Am Team Challenge’s unique format hosts four-man teams, with each surfer gaining points for their respective group by advancing through heats. While an individual Katin Pro-Am Team Champion is crowned, the team with the most points at the end of the event is the overall champion.

Curran lived up to his reputation as one of the game’s top aerial specialists, launching the event’s most progressive maneuvers in the Final to notch the highest single-wave score of a near-perfect 9.77 out of 10 for a massive frontside air-reverse on a lefthand ramp on the way to earning the event’s highest heat-total, 18.50 out of 20, to leave fellow finalists Chris Waring (Seal Beach, CA), 23, Micah Byrne (Huntington Beach, CA), 29, and Tanner Gudauskas (San Clemente, CA), 22, in need of two scores to overtake the high-flying goofy-footer.

“I had a really slow start to that heat for the first 10 minutes and thought that heat was going to be a dud for me,” Curran said. “I did one little air and then I just decided that I was going to sit out the back and just go for airs in that heat. I know with the change in criteria now that the judges are rewarding big maneuvers so I just went for the airs.”

Curran, who solidified Team Hurley’s victory with his individual win at the Katin Pro-Am Team Challenge, admitted that he was able to enter the Final more relaxed with Hurley holding a firm lead prior to the Final heat.

“It’s great to see the guys in your team ripping,” Curran said “Everyone on my team kept making heats so it really took the pressure off entering the final. I love Huntington Beach, I’ve been coming here since I was 15 and to win this event is great.”

The win at the Katin Pro-Am Team Challenge also marks a bit of a comeback for Curran, who is out to build his ASP World Ranking this year in order to get into the more premier ASP PRIME contests such as the US Open of Surfing.

“My plan this year is to take a break from the music tour and do as many fun events as possible to try and build my World Ranking,” Curran said. “I’d love to eventually get back into the US Open.”